“Traveling is really about connecting with different people and seeing their side of the city through their eyes.”
Alan’s Travel Itinerary
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We had the opportunity to sit down with Mr. Alan See, Co-Founder of The Armoury – an international men’s haberdasher for men’s clothing and accessories, to dive deep into his vibrant world of colours, textures and prints. Renowned for his discerning taste in fashion and ever-so-classic style with a modern twist that is uniquely his, the dapper gentleman is no stranger when it comes to being featured as a regular on the best dressed list across various global publications. Find out now the top 5 destinations that Alan recommend you visit to spot some of the most stylish and passionate people in the industry that never fail to show up and take fashion to the next level. Read more below.
Alan: At first glance, the below recommendations may not be considered the coolest spots at first glance, but there tends to be a lot of gems, history and inspiration upon digging a little deeper.
Naples, Italy
The older gentlemen all over Naples and their stories – South of Italy. One of the most stylish gentlemen I know runs an amazing restaurant in Downtown Naples. He must be the physical embodiment of sartorial style of the city.
Fabric Fairs
The designers I have had the opportunity to encounter at various fabric fairs around the world work with colour as a profession, and the guys who love their job are the most inspiring when it comes to colour, texture and clothing. It is always amazing to hear of the industry from a different perspective and also of their anecdotes of how things came to be. The cloth mills and designers are pretty much at the top of the supply chain and have a very different perspective of the tailors, brands, and marketplace than everyone else!
Tokyo, Japan
Many of these salesmen across Tokyo are in the industry truly for the passion and their love of clothes. There are plenty of stories like people living off Ramen for a month in order to save up for trophy pieces. The way they dress, and learn about clothes is a studied and knowledgeable affair.
Vintages Stores in Japan
These areas are rich of interesting shops, architecture, and people. Whether it be fashion, furniture, books etc, these areas are the best to discover, learn, and soak up the local culture.
Shanghai, China
And finally – the young kids of Shanghai! I think China used to have a bit of identity crisis, but have come a long way since then – from standardised uniforms, to an accelerated pace of adopting various pieces of the world’s different sense of styles, and now with the newer generation returning home and identifying that home is where their true roots lie – there is a portion of those who go deeper and combine what they have grown up with in their hometowns and the metropolitan cities they also came into contact with when schooling abroad – there is a beautifully unique new sense of what it is to be this new Chinese generation!
